Threads That Can't Be Picked Up
by Kizna-Kitty
Summary: Team 7 has been separated for two and a half years. After all that time, the three will finally be reunited. But the reunion isn’t a happy one, and neither are the events that follow. Can the three former friends pick up the threads of their old life?
1. Prison Cell Reunion

**Threads That Can't Be Picked Up**

**Kizna: Hi! Well, this is my first Naruto fanfic. So pretty please with coffee on top read and review. It's only rated T just in case.**

**Note: Of course I don't own Naruto. If I did, I would be focusing on how to kill Sasuke instead of writing this fanfic. I can dream, can't I?**

**Warning: Spoilers from after time skip (meaning after and around Chapter 245), including the incident with the Akatsuki and Gaara (later on). I'm going to purposely keep some things the way they are in the series because I like it. But I'll change more, trust me. So don't get confused if it hop-skips around a bit.**

**Summary: **Team 7 has been separated for two and a half years. After all that time, the three will finally be reunited. But the reunion isn't a happy one, and neither are the events that follow. Can the three once-friends pick up the threads of their old life?

I really suck at summaries, so please just read. Pairings will probably be NarutoXSakura and several smaller ones. For the love of all things Naruto and coffee-ish, PLEASE REVIEW!

**------------------**

"Sakura?"

The pink-haired kunoichi looked up, staring hard into her former teammate's face. He had become so much more like his older brother, taller, his hair longer, his face gaunt and deep lines etched under his eyes. Now he lay on the floor of the dank cell, a row of cold steel bars separating the two.

He stared back into her brittle emerald eyes, and momentarily Sasuke imagined he had glimpsed some softness in her eyes. Some love left over for him. But now, that moment passed and her eyes resumed their distant and somewhat cold stare.

Sasuke had to admit, she had gotten prettier over the past two and a half years. And stronger, an aching pain in his leg reminded him. That was how he had been captured, he had underestimated her. She was no longer the weakling that annoyed the hell out of him.

Flashback

"Sasuke-san, is this a good idea?"

"Leiko, I did not ask for your opinion. I don't even need you here," Sasuke responded sharply to his subordinate. It was true, since they were just useless baggage to him. Orochimaru would no doubt punish Sasuke harshly if he had found out he had disobeyed orders and come near the Leaf. These two had followed, hoping to assist in some way.

Leiko was no more than two or three years older than him, her black hair matching her almost black eyes. She wore the dark flak jacket of the Sound, which along with her features contrasted sharply with her pale skin. Despite her age, she was one of the more experienced shinobi in the Sound, clever and agile. Her arms contained the same kind of air vents her former comrade Zaku's arms had contained.

Jundai, on the other had, was a husky, middle-aged shinobi garbed in a basic sound soldier outfit. His brown hair was graying at the temples, and there were very visible wrinkles lining his eyes and mouth. He was an average-strength shinobi, though more than a bit dim-witted, his power coming from his immense size and muscle mass.

Suddenly Leiko stiffened, backing towards Sasuke and motioning Jundai to do the same, so they would be protecting him from two sides. A sudden flurry of kunai confirmed Leiko's suspicions, and the trio dodged easily.

Leiko raised her hands toward the source of the attack and yelled "Zankyokukuuha!" Instantly a massive gust of air pressure erupted from the vents, directed at the enemy. The powerful attack mangled the trees, leaving either naked trunks or broken stumps in a roughly 10 meter path. But the attack had achieved its goal, exposing their enemy. The attackers stood in the midst of broken forest, the three none other than Kiba, with Akamaru of course, Tenten, and Sakura of the Leaf.

There was a moment of tense silence, quickly broken when Jundai let out a grunt and charged haphazardly for Kiba, while Leiko simultaneously launched a kick toward Tenten. Both leaf-nins dodged the attacks, though it was clear that Tenten's opponent was more skilled.

"Zankuuha!" As soon as the sound kunoichi had done the seals and shouted this phrase, a burst of pressure weaker than the previous one shot toward Tenten, the weapons expert stumbling back a few feet by the force. She pulled out a small scroll and unrolled it with a flick of her wrist, producing a long, sharp two-sided blade and threw it before Leiko could react. It missed her by mere millimeters, flying past the sound-kunoichi's ear.

"Look's like you missed," Leiko taunted with a smirk.

"Look again."

Leiko whipped around to see the blade had indeed hit a mark, now embedded deeply in Jundai's back. The older sound-nin gave a shudder before collapsing in a limp heap. Kiba looked surprised for a moment, though his expression changed to eager happiness as he and Akamaru launched an attack on Leiko.

Meanwhile, Sakura faced her black-haired former teammate. An awkward silence hovered around them for a few moments.

"Sasuke," Sakura stated firmly, breaking the silence. "Come back with us."

Sasuke started laughing, laughing in an insane way he hadn't before. Abruptly stopping, he smirked at Sakura. "I will _never _come back with you. And there isn't anything you can do to convince me."

"Come back with us or I'll kill you."

This comment evoked a malicious smirk from Sasuke. "Are you serious? Sakura, I promise you that you can't even scratch me."

"You're wrong," Sakura said, slipping on her gloves. It looked like force would be needed.

"Fine. I'll be nice. I'll give you _one _free hit," Sasuke said. "Then I'll kill you."

"Chakra no Mesu!" With this said, Sakura's hands started glowing a smoky blue. Sasuke stood there confidently. _She can't do ANYTHING to hurt me,_ Sasuke thought while deactivating his sharingan.

"Stupid move," Sakura hissed, shooting toward Sasuke at a fast speed. She placed both her hands on Sasuke's left leg momentarily before retreating a few steps.

Sasuke stared at her, his eyes a mixture of pity and arrogance. "I told you," he said matter-of-factly. "You can't even lay a scratch on me." He stepped forward and instantly collapsed, shock written all over his face. "W-what happened?" he exclaimed angrily.

Sakura held up a hand, the glowing subsiding. "Chakra no Mesu. You should've known what it was. Tsunade-sensei tells me that one of your comrades uses it."

It was then Sasuke remembered seeing Kabuto use the chakra scalpel once before. _Shit! Why didn't I see that? _He tried standing, but to no avail. And he knew no healing jutsus, which were one of his weakest points. To put it lightly, he was screwed.

Sakura moved toward him again, this time hitting him on the forehead with two fingers. All the raven-haired missing nin could feel was mind-numbing pain before blacking out.

End Flashback

He tried to stand, but fell down again, cursing under his breath.

"Your left femur bone is still fractured. You can't stand up."

"Where's Naruto?"

A wave of frustration and sadness swept over Sakura, quickly replaced by anger. _He wakes up and the first actual thing he does is ask for Naruto? _"The girl you were with is here, but she's in critical condition. The man is dead, unfortunately for you," Sakura said calmly, as if Sasuke's question had been about the welfare of his teammates.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke said again, this time more urgently.

"Your current teammate is DEAD!" Sakura shouted, the dam that had been holding back her anger breaking. "And all you do is ask for the teammate you betrayed?"

"WHERE'S NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled at the top of his voice.

Sakura calmed down, her anger ebbing, replaced by sadness. "He's not in Konoha. He left shortly after you," she said solemnly.

"And you didn't send ANBU or shinobis after _him_?" Sasuke asked spitefully.

"Naruto left to train with Jiraiya-sannin," Sakura shot back. "He had _permission _from the village."

"I left to train with Orochimaru, who's also a sannin. What's wrong with what I did?"

"You didn't have permission to."

"As if I could ask. Do you seriously think ANYONE in the village would allow me to go and train with a missing nin?" Sasuke asked.

Silence followed. Sakura felt like her heart was being torn into pieces. Here was the person she had wanted to see so badly, to be with him again. And here she was, barely resisting the urge to beat him into a bloody pulp.

"So I guess another guy left you, eh? Not very popular, are you?" Sasuke asked mockingly.

Sakura shot him an icy glare. She couldn't resist punching him any longer, so she silently exited the prison without so much as another look toward Sasuke.

**------------------**

**Kizna: So, how did you like it? Please review! Please! Or I'll cry. I'm kidding, I won't, but it would be extremely appreciated if I did get reviews. I want to get like one or two (I have extremely low standards) before continuing to the next chappie. And in the reviews please tell me how I can improve!**

**Sorry if you're annoyed by the jutsu names being in Japanese. If you don't understand;**

**Chakra no Mesu: Chakra Scalpel**

**Zankuuha: Decapitating Airwaves**

**Zankyokukuuha- Extreme Decapitating Air Wave**

**Zankyokukuuha - Extreme Decapitating Air Waves**


	2. More Than Slightly Repeated

**Kizna: Yay! I actually got reviews! Can you believe it? Thank you for your reviews, reviewers! You've given me more youthful passion to continue my youthful story! But to all who didn't review...pwease review... thank you...**

**Yes, I kept most of the initial Naruto/Sakura reunion part the same. Sorry.**

**------------------**

She stared at the scroll, not really reading what was on it. Sakura's mind was wandering elsewhere, thinking about the former team 7. She occasionally saw Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke was back...and different, and Naruto was no doubt stronger. A part of her worried that he too would become different, just as Sasuke had.

Her thoughts were cut short when the door to the scroll room opened and Hinata came in.

"Hi Hinata-chan!" Sakura said to the Hyuuga as she entered.

"Oh! Hi Sakura-chan! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here," the white-eyed kunoichi said sheepishly, fiddling with the scroll she was holding. "Shizune-san wanted me to put this back."

"Don't worry about it. I can't seem to focus anyway," Sakura assured the timid girl. About two years ago Hinata had admitted to Kiba that her dream was to become a great medical shinobi, and in turn Neji somehow found out. Being the assertive person he is, he went right over to the Fifth Hokage and voiced his cousin's request.

Since then the two had become much better friends. On the larger part the two usually trained together under Tsunade, but there were occasions where they trained separately, Hinata going with Shizune.

Sakura rolled up the scroll, seeing how it was useless anyway. She couldn't learn the jutsu with this much filling her head. "Hey Hinata, want to go get something to eat?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sakura, I kind of have plans..." Hinata said shyly, trailing off.

"With Kiba?" Sakura added, a grin spreading over her face as Hinata blushed deeply. It was no secret that the two were an item. They had been officially going out for about a year so far.

"So...bye," Hinata said shyly, heading through the door. She felt extremely guilty and regretful. Sakura was her friend, and she was no doubt depressed about Sasuke's condition. She felt like she should've tried her best to cheer Sakura up.

Sakura was staring through the window at the village when the door opened again. She thought maybe Hinata had left something, but she turned to see Tsunade come in, a smile on her face.

"Sakura...That Naruto seems to have returned to Konoha," she said joyfully.

---------------

_He's certainly cheerful today, _Jiraiya thought as his student stood on one of the roofs, staring examining how his village looked after two and a half years of absence.

"I missed this place!" Naruto yelled ecstatically. "It hasn't changed one bit!"

"You've grown a lot, haven't you...Naruto," a familiar voice said. Surprised, Naruto looked to the speaker to find it was none other than Kakashi.

"Yo," the jounin said, the ever-present Icha Icha Paradise in his hand.

"Kakashi-sensei! You haven't changed a bit!" Naruto yelled in greeting, jumping toward the older in. Suddenly he stopped short of Kakashi, rummaging in one of his pouches. "Wait. I have something for you," Naruto said happily, presenting Kakashi with the next Icha Icha novel, Icha Icha Tactics.

"Whaaat? You...h-how...t-this...is..." Kakashi stuttered.

"If you ask me, it's really boring. But I think you'll like it," Naruto said, ignoring Jiraiya, who was pouting off to the side.

"Now! Next stop: Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto yelled, marching forward.

"As promised," Jiraiya said to Kakashi. "I'll leave Naruto back in your care."

"..."

"I fear the Akatsuki has been growing impatient... they may make an attempt on Naruto soon...I'm going to head out and gather as much information as I can..."

The toad sannin's words were cut off by a loud yell. Kakashi and Jiraiya looked forward quickly to see just ahead of Naruto were the unmistakable backs of Tsunade and Sakura.

"Sa...Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, stunned. She had changed... she was a lot prettier. Her hair was still short... and her outfit was different. But both in a good way.

"Eh? Naruto?" Sakura replied, equally as stunned.

"So...how do I look?" Sakura asked after recovering a bit. "Do I look more like a woman now?"

"You look fine! You haven't changed at all!" Naruto joyfully replied, being oblivious to the answer Sakura had wanted.

"Ah Naruto...you still don't understand a woman's mind..." Sakura muttered. Then she realized something. "You've... you've gotten taller than me!" she exclaimed.

"Hehe...yeah," Naruto answered sheepishly, comparing his height to hers.

"Naruto nii-chan!"

All turned to see Konohamaru finishing hand seals, then shouting "Oiroke no Jutsu!" Of course Jiraiya's reaction was the same as when Naruto had done it, but Naruto's face was the picture of disappointment.

"That was a drool of a jutsu, wasn't it?" the younger boy asked eagerly.

"I'm sorry, Konohamaru, but I'm not a kid anymore," Naruto answered solemnly. "And you shouldn't use that jutsu either."

_...So...Naruto hasn't just matured in appearance and strength... This makes me feel a little sad. You've really become strong, Naruto, _Sakura thought with a bit of regret.

"THAT'S NOW A MEDIOCRE NINJUTSU!" Naruto yelled. "BEHOLD, A NEW PERVERTED JUTSU I'VE BEEN DEVELOPING!"

"Hehe... new perv-.." Sakura repeated before the words actually registered. When they did, she screamed "PERVERTED NINJUTSU? YOU IDIOT! YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED A BIT! TWO AND A HALF YEARS AND ALREADY YOU JUMP RIGHT INTO THAT!" while punching him. Naruto went crashing into the ground, but Sakura didn't stop, instead proceeding to choke him to death.

"Hey...Sakura, calm down," Kakashi said shakily. "Konohamaru's terrified."

"Jiraiya...Naruto has grown a lot like you in these past two years, hasn't he?" Tsunade asked.

_The beauty and the strength, _Jiraiya thought, _it seems you've raised another Tsunade._

"Ok, enough of nostalgia," Tsunade said, cutting the mood short. "Kakashi?"

"Right," the jounin answered. "From now on, we'll be a team again, though now it's not teacher and pupil. Starting today, we're equal Konoha shinobis. But first..." he produced the bells from so long ago, "I'm curious to see how much stronger you are."

Naruto and Sakura both grinned. This time it would be a lot easier. Suddenly Sakura remembered Sasuke. She had been so caught up in seeing Naruto again that she had forgot about Sasuke. Remembering her fear that Naruto would change just as Sasuke had, Sakura felt oddly happy about Naruto's still-existent immaturity. But Naruto had to find out about his teammate...

"Naruto..." Sakura said quietly. "I forgot to tell you... we got Sasuke back."

"WHAT!" Naruto basically screamed.

------------------

**Kizna: Sorry that it was just a repeat of the manga. I didn't know where to start. But for the next chappie, which might contain some repeating, I'll try to make it better!**


	3. Ramen and Pink Caterpillars!

**Chapter 3**

**Kizna: Hehe, sorry it took forever to write another chapter, even though I started it like 2 months ago. I hate when others do it so I'm being hypocritical...**

**Thank you to the reviewers. Especially Garrett's advice on the fight scene. I know I'm bad at them, so I'll try to do better next time! Anyway... onto the fanfic!**

**I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasuke would be dead and long digested by beetles by now.**

**-------------**

"And then we were going to tell you Icha Icha Tactics spoilers, so you covered your ears and eyes, and we got the bells!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing.

This earned him a death glare from Kakashi. "Naruto," Kakashi said unenthusiastically, "For the last time, I know what happened. Stop gloating."

Naruto was about to reply when his stomach gave a loud grumble. "Ah, I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten since early yesterday."

"I'm hungry from training since yesterday too," Sakura added, just noticing her hunger now.

"Let's go to Ichiraku!"

"Sure! But its sensei's treat."

They both turned to tell Kakashi there decision, but instead of their sensei there was just smoke. "He ditched us!" Naruto yelled.

"It doesn't matter. We can just go together," Sakura said casually, then adding, "But it's your treat."

They started off toward the ramen stand, and Naruto could only think of how light his wallet would be. Then he realized something. He and Sakura were going to eat _alone_. Could this be considered a date?

Naruto almost did a jig until another thought hit him. Had Sakura gone out with anyone over the past two years? Did she have a boyfriend? What about Lee? Had she finally accepted one of his pleas for a date?

Suddenly, he imagined something so disturbing he almost fainted. In his mind, he could see a small boy with bowl-cut pink hair, round eyes, and fuzzy pink caterpillar eyebrows. Was this how Sakura's and Lee's kids would look like? Naruto slid to the ground, exasperated by the thoughts and the vision.

"Eh? Naruto? What's wrong?" Sakura asked when she realized his had collapsed.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just a bit tired."

Sakura nodded, though Naruto was acting strange. They were right in front of the ramen 'stand' now.

"Hey! What happened to this place?" Naruto exclaimed. Ichiraku Ramen had renovated, and was now a small restaurant rather than the stand Naruto remembered.

"Yeah, they got a lot of business and decided to renovate."

Naruto shrugged and they went in. Seeing Ayame at the counter, he bounced off to greet her and Teuchi. "I'll be right back Sakura-chan!" he yelled while running. Sakura laughed to herself, sitting down at a table by the window. The sun was already low, but the sky was still blue.

Sasuke crossed her mind again, shadowing her happiness. They had told Naruto all they knew of his return and such, and he had accepted it pretty quietly. Too quietly for Naruto. But now he seemed fine. But was he just masking his true feelings?

"Sakura-chan!"

Naruto had come back to the table. He grinned and sat down. Ayame came just as he was about to speak. "What do you guys want to eat?" she asked.

"Mmmmm... two bowls of miso ramen for me!"

Sakura studied the menu for a second, not sure of what to take. "I just want a bowl of beef ramen. Thanks."

Ayame nodded and went back to the kitchen. There was a moment of awkward silence.

_What should I say to her? _Naruto thought. The pink-haired child appeared in his mind again, and he tried to send the thought away.

"So, how's everyone from the leaf nine?" Naruto asked. He really wanted to see everyone again. "And Neji's team," he quickly added.

Sakura stared at the window, wondering where to start. "Well, Hinata and I are training to be medical-nins under Tsunade-sensei."

"Are Kiba and Hinata together?" Naruto asked.

Sakura stared at him for a moment. She had always thought Naruto had feelings for Hinata and considered Kiba a rival. "Yeah, but why do you ask?"

"Finally. They're meant for each other."

"Yeah. I mean, that's so obvious even an idiot like you can realize it."

"Sakura-chan!"

Ayame arrived with three steaming bowls, and Naruto started eating immediately, forgetting about the previous insult.

"Neji and TenTen are together." Sakura said after swallowing.

Naruto nodded slightly. He didn't know Neji's team that well. Of course Neji was a jounin now, Naruto remembered. Everyone had advanced in rank... but him, making him feel unbelievably left out.

Thinking of Neji made Naruto remember Lee. "Hey, how's Lee?" Naruto asked with his mouth half-full.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sakura said, suddenly bursting into laughter. "Lee...that reminds me...I forgot to tell you."

_Forgot to tell him what?_ Naruto thought, swallowing hard.

"Of course Lee stopped bothering me to go out with him. He found someone else."

Naruto felt a wave of relief spread over him and had some more ramen.

"Lee and Ino are together now."

Naruto had started laughing, but unfortunately he still had ramen in his mouth. He choked, falling off his chair.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, hitting him on his back. Naruto coughed and then swallowed the noodles.

"Thanks," he said sheepishly. "But high-maintenance girl and fuzzy-brows? I always thought Shikamaru had a thing for Ino."

"It seems so hard to believe, I know," Sakura replied, still giggling. "Shikamaru and Ino were together for about a week. Shikamaru was too lazy and Ino too bossy in each others' eyes. But Ino and Lee... are oddly unique enough for each other."

Sakura finished her ramen, looking out the window again. The sky was stained orange and pink now, the sun slowly disappearing.

"Sakura-chan? Can we leave?" Naruto complained slightly. Sakura noticed he had finished both his bowls.

"Sure."

They paid and left the restaurant, Naruto shouting back gladly that he would come again soon. Their homes were in the same direction, so they walked down the street together.

"Hey, don't you live that way?" Naruto asked, pointing in the direction of a cross street.

"Oh. Actually, I moved out of my parents' house. I live in an apartment further down."

"Cool! Do you like living alone?"

Sakura considered it. "Well, I love having no curfew. But the laundry and cooking gets annoying."

"Well, this is my place," Naruto said, pointing just down the road. "I wonder how my home looks now..."

"I'll come with you in case you need any help or anything," Sakura said, shrugging. She didn't have anything to do today.

Naruto opened the door to his apartment, and both shinobi stared in silence at the state of the apartment. All the surfaces were covered in a centimeter or two of dust, and the lights refused to turn on.

"This might take a while..." Naruto said.

Not thinking of what she was saying, Sakura spoke. "Come on. You can sleep at my place tonight and tidy up tomorrow."

"Sakura-chan, you're so generous! Thanks!"

_What am I doing? Naruto, sleep at MY place? Oh god..., _Sakura thought. But it was too late to take back her invitation.

"Come on!" Naruto exclaimed.

They only had to walk a block to get to Sakura's apartment. "Wow, you live so close! I can come here every day!" Naruto said happily.

"Why?"

"Ehh... I don't know."

Sakura opened the door to reveal an apartment fifty times cleaner then Naruto's ever was. The boy quickly plopped himself on the cream-colored couch.

"Yay! Where do I sleep?"

"There."

"Sakura-chan, you need a pet."

"What? Why?" Sakura asked, looking at him from the kitchen.

"Don't you get lonely here by yourself?"

"Not really."

Naruto stared up at the ceiling, unsure of what to say. Sakura, on the other hand, was busy digging through her closet to find a sleeping bag Naruto could use.

Both looked up when they heard a knock on the door.

---------------

**Kizna: Well... what did you think? Review! Or I shall suck your brains out with straws! Bendy straws!**


	4. Sleepover!

**Kizna: Yay! Another chapter! This one I tried to make funny. **

---------------

Sakura went to open the door and was hit by a pillow flying in her face. Ino stood right outside the door, grinning. Slightly behind her stood Hinata, holding onto her pillow tightly as though Ino would throw it too.

"You're depressed, so we decided to come over for a sleepover to cheer you up," Ino stated. "And no, you have no choice in the matter."

"Hinata-chan! Ino!" Naruto exclaimed, coming to greet them.

Hinata blushed red as Naruto hugged her. "H-hi Naruto-kun. It's great that you're back," she said shyly, still harboring a tiny crush on the blond.

Ino grinned. "I guess you aren't so depressed anymore, huh Sakura?"

"Don't you have to be at the flower shop?" Sakura asked.

"No," Ino replied. "I got Lee to work instead of me. He's so nice..."

There was an awkward silence as Ino trailed off, a dreamy look in her eyes. Naruto was trying to hold back laughter.

"Eh... Naruto's house is kind of a mess, so I'm letting him stay here tonight," Sakura said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan! I'll crash at Iruka's today!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely!" Naruto answered, getting his bag.

"Well... bye. See you tomorrow."

"Bye!"

"Bye Naruto-kun..."

The three watched him leave before Ino turned back to Sakura, smiling slyly. "Well, I guess you aren't so depressed anymore. I just wish we had known sooner." Throwing her sleeping bag on the living room floor, Ino added, "By the way, I'm raiding your refrigerator."

-------------

"Ahhhh Sakura I hate you. Why don't you have any REAL cookie dough?"

"Shut up Ino. Raw cookie dough can make you sick."

The three were in their pajamas, sitting around the TV eating chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Of course, Ino had complained about four times in the last two minutes how and sleepover couldn't be a sleepover without real cookie dough.

Ino muttered something about ice cream industry propaganda under her breath. "Sakura's right," Hinata said meekly, shrinking from the glare Ino gave her, "the ice cream is better."

The gushy teenage sitcom they had been watching was now being ignored. "So," Ino started, her good mood back, "Sakura, what exactly happened with you and Naruto before we came?"

"Ino-pig! We didn't do anything. We went out, ate some ramen and then we went to Naruto's apartment. It was a mess, so I told him he could stay here."

Ino was about to reply when Hinata said worriedly, "Naruto still only eats ramen? One day he'll get sick..."

"Mmm...Hinata-chan, do you still have a crush on Naruto?" Ino asked with a sly grin on her face.

"Hinata and Naruto, sitting in a tree," Sakura teased, her expression matching Ino's.

"No! It's not that!" Hinata exclaimed, her face beet red. But of course they wouldn't believe her. "I just care about his health. Anyway...I'm with Kiba-kun."

The whole room was silent for a second. Hinata was still enormously embarrassed to admit her relationship with Kiba. This confession was a first.

"Oh my god..." Sakura whispered.

"HYUUGA HINATA HAS JUST CONFESSED HER NAUGHTY LOVE AFFAIR WITH INUZUKA KIBA!" Ino exclaimed at the top of her lungs.

-------------

Unfortunately, right outside the door at that very moment, with his finger hovering a centimeter from the doorbell, was Hyuuga Neji. He paused awkwardly after clearly hearing the outburst, his mouth slightly open, his finger shaking somewhat5 with the indecision of pressing the doorbell or not. He decided against it.

Quietly activating his Byakugen, Neji surveyed the inside of Sakura's apartment. The girls were grouped around the TV in their pajamas, eating ice cream. Sakura and Ino, wearing pink polka-dotted and purple flower-printed pajamas, were laughing maniacally and Hinata, wearing yellow pajamas with black-and-white cows, had turned a shade of red previously thought impossible. Randomly, he realized that someone like Naruto or the Toad Sannin would give all four limbs or more to have the Byakugen.

He had been sent by Hiashi just to ask Hinata if she was coming home today. Of course she had already told her father she was sleeping over at Sakura's, but he insisted Neji ask again.

Neji had been initially annoyed, thinking he could use the time to practice his glare and his newly revised speech about destiny in the mirror.

He had known his cousin and the dog boy were going out. Heck, everyone knew. Well, not the Hyuugas. But Neji had found out from Tenten, who had found out from Lee, who had found out from Ino, yada yada.

Previously he couldn't imagine his cousin in any sort of intimate relationship with anyone. But how far had she and the Inuzuka kid gone? Disturbing images were flashing through his mind, derived from that one time he had accidentally used the Byakugen to look through into book a chuunin was reading that he thought was some sort of bingo book. In reality, it had been _Icha Icha Paradise: The Graphic Novel_. With giant emphasis on the "graphic" part.

He would tell his uncle Hinata had told him she would be sleeping over at Sakura's. Then he would go to the Inuzuka boy. No...first he would go and request Morino Ibiki's help. _Then _go to the Inuzuka boy. It was going to be a long night...

-------------

"Ah! Ino! What if someone heard?" Hinata exclaimed, her face still a deep shade of red.

"Don't worry Hinata. All my neighbors are either senile or on missions. Or with dirty minds that enjoy those kinds of comments," Sakura said after she had managed to stop laughing. Ino was still rolling with laughter right by her.

-------------

**Kizna: Please review!**


End file.
